Arron Afflalo’s boomerang back to Denver came so quickly that he’s still playing under the same contract the Nuggets signed him to in 2011.

He signed a five-year, $43 million contract back then, with the fifth year a player option, which is coming up after the 2014-15 season. Early signs are pointing toward Afflalo opting out of the contract, particularly if he has a season close to what he did in Orlando this past season with averages of 18.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists.

“It’s probably something that I always anticipated, even beyond when I first signed this deal with Denver,” Afflalo told The Denver Post. “I knew my game, I knew my maturity, I knew I would grow as a player. And I wanted to have that option as I got older and I progressed as a player. So hopefully I’ll out-perform my contract and put myself in a better situation. That was my intent from the beginning, even before this year, was to play out the four years and progress as a player.”

It means the Nuggets will have to begin figuring out just how much they can afford to pay him. Afflalo, reacquired in a trade last week, will make in the $7.5 million range next season.

The Nuggets shouldn’t have many problems finding room with which to re-sign him. The contracts of Nate Robinson and Darrell Arthur are both expiring after the upcoming season and Wilson Chandler’s contract isn’t fully guaranteed.

Four other players – JaVale McGee, Danilo Gallinari, J.J. Hickson and Randy Foye – will have one year left on their contracts after next season.

Also, while the Nuggets’ intention is to keep Afflalo for the duration of the 2014-15 season, they didn’t immediately tell him he wouldn’t be moved on in a future deal. His name had popped up publicly in connection to a potential deal to bring disgruntled Minnesota star Kevin Love to the Nuggets.

Afflalo said he wouldn’t worry about that.

“That’s part of the business,” he told The Post. “If that happens, you remain professional and you move on. But I operate under what is, not what if and as of right now I feel like a Nugget again. If things change, they change. So, my mindset is simply shifted to what is.”

Four assistant basketball coaches at Division I schools and a top Adidas executive were among 10 people charged Tuesday with crimes including bribery and fraud as part of a wide-ranging federal investigation into corruption in college basketball.

CenturyLink, the telecommunications company that ended its sponsorship agreement with Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall because of his protests during the national anthem last year, said it will not terminate its agreement with current client Emmanuel Sanders.